Tuesday's snow fall lands in top 10 for Midland

by Kathleen ThurberMidland Reporter-Telegram

Published 6:00 pm, Monday, February 22, 2010

Winter weather wedged its way Tuesday into West Texas, bringing one of the area's top 10 snowfalls on record and forcing the closure of school for hundreds of Midlanders who were left to enjoy the weather.

The National Weather Service recorded 4.5 inches of snow at its office Tuesday, which is the ninth largest snowfall to occur in Midland since it started keeping records in 1930.

And while it didn't come too close to the record 9.8 inches Midland saw in December of 1998, Tuesday's storm did bring the most snow the Tall City's ever seen in February.

The previous record was 2.5 inches set on Feb. 12, 1963, according to the National Weather Service.

Although the snow (and later slush) did cause a few problems for Midlanders, many spent the day enjoying what they described as a rare treat by creating giant snowmen, building forts or tossing snowballs.

Snow Day

The majority of Midland schools were closed Tuesday including both Midland Independent School District and Midland College.

Ector County Independent School District also was closed, although Odessa College and the University of Texas of the Permian Basin opened during the afternoon.

Several churches and extracurricular programs canceled their activities.

Midland County offices were closed with the exception of essential services and the elections office, which continued to hold early voting. Just more than 200 Midlanders voted Tuesday, according to the county's Elections Office.

Road conditions

The Texas Department of Transportation closed Loop 250 on Tuesday morning with the help of the city. The road was reopened around noon and no major accidents in the area were reported, officials said.

No other roads were closed in Midland's city limits, Assistant Transportation Division Manager Eric Johnson said.

Water trucks carrying a salt mixture as well as trucks loaded with gravel began treating roads just before midnight Monday and continued throughout the day and evening Tuesday where necessary, Johnson said.

The Department of Public Safety worked 20 weather-related accidents Tuesday morning in Midland, Ector, Martin, Andrews and Dawson counties. None were major.

With freezing temperatures expected through mid-day today, officials are advising drivers to be cautious again on roads and allow extra time when traveling, as any melted snow remaining may have turned into ice.

Travel

Crews started plowing runways at Midland International Airport around 2 a.m. Tuesday, staff said, and continued to ensure areas were clear for travel throughout the day.

Still, while MAF staff were prepared to have planes landing and taking off, delays in other parts of the state meant several morning flights for Continental and American Airlines were canceled.

Southwest's morning flight was delayed by more than an hour as passengers waited for a plane to arrive in Midland.

City of Midland Airports Director Marv Esterly said by Tuesday afternoon they'd cleared all snow from the runways and didn't expect additional problems even if temperatures remained below freezing this morning. He said operation staff remain on site 24 hours a day to take care of any issues that may arise.

All EZ Rider routes in Midland-Odessa were running all day Tuesday, though staff said some buses were slightly behind schedule.

Forecast

After near-freezing temperatures most of Tuesday, the National Weather Service is predicting sunny skies and a high of around 53 today.

The low is expected to drop back to around 30 tonight and will be accompanied by 10 mph winds from the south, according to the National Weather Service.

The next chance for precipitation will come Thursday when there is a 20 percent chance of rain showers. The high Thursday is expected to reach 64 and the low to drop to 34.

Any additional rain would add to what already has been an above average year for precipitation.

The average rainfall for this time of year in Midland is 1.01 inches. As of Tuesday, 3.14 inches had been recorded.

Meteorologists said below average temperatures and above average precipitation is expected to continue for the next three months.

Average temperatures for this time of year are a high of 65 and a low of around 36.